Time
is a thing we must accept.
The unexpected I sometimes
fear.
Just when I feel there's no
excuse for what happens,
things fall into place.
I know there is no way to
avoid the pain that we must
go through, to find the other
half that is true.
Destiny is what we all seek.
Destiny was waiting for you
and me.

I
believe behind confusion,
awaits the truth for us.
Past the obstacles we face.
I value our life and trust.
Years of questioning why
things happen the way they
do in life.
Wishing that I could turn back
time, so we could join our
souls.

Dear Chuck,

The time has
unfortunately come for us to write the words that should
never have to be written. Your long, hard fight is over,
and despite your tremendous effort, you faced an unbeatable
foe. You mean so much to all of us, and we will all miss
you greatly. The music that touched our lives, YOUR music,
will live on in our hearts forever, and will continue
to inspire generations to come.

You wanted
to go on the road with Control Denied, and spend time
with your fans, thanking them for the years of support.
You leave us before you could do this, but it is YOU that
should be thanked, for the memorable and wonderful music
that you shared with us all.

While our
pain is true, we can know nothing of those who lost a
son, a brother, an uncle, a friend and a bandmate. We
send our deepest condolences and warmest thoughts to your
mother and father, your sister and her son, your friends,
and your bandmates. Their pain is great only because great
was their love for you. May you rest in peace.

The EmptyWords
team, December 15, 2001

May 13,
2002

Today is
Chuck's birthday and all of you can imagine what a very
sad day it is for us without him. I was searching for
the right words to express how I feel today and I remembered
this poem, a bit of it is on the memorial video so I
am asking Yvonne to put it on the emptywords site. I
want to thank all of you who realized that Mother's
Day was difficult also and sent me emails and cards,
even flowers, to wish me well on that day. And today
many of you realize it's his birthday and are sending
your thoughts my way. Thank you for that comfort.

Jane Schuldiner

We
miss all that you were
We miss all that you would have become
We miss all that you did
We miss all that you would have done
We miss all that you said
We miss all that you would say
We miss loving you
We miss all the love you had for us
We had so much love, joy, hope,
peace and dreams for the future
Now we have so much pain, sorrow,
grief, loss, anger, remorse, broken
hearts and broken dreams that have
destroyed our peace, hope and future
We hold on to our precious memories
but it will never be enough
For nothing we will ever have or do can
fill the vast hole in our hearts and lives
when we lost you.
Missing you always.....
Loving you forever.....
Forgetting you never.....

With every 2000 entries we have to open a new book of condolences,
the full books will be sent over to Chuck's family. We want
to thank you very much on their behalf, for all the kind words
of comfort. The response has been overwhelming.

Make a difference and join
the Death/Control Denied team at United
Devices

December
13 2002

IN LOVING MEMORY
OF CHARLES 'CHUCK' SCHULDINER

May 13, 1967 - December 13, 2001

My dearest Chuck, a beautiful light went out in our world
the day you left us, and it has been an awful struggle to
go on without you this past year. The pain and emptiness goes
on unabated, as you knew it would, but we are trying to be
strong, as I promised you. Your fans worldwide have been very
supportive, writing to share their feelings and telling me
of the positive impact your music had, and still continues
to have in their lives. I take some comfort in their words:
Chuck will never die, he will always live on through his music.
That's a nice thought to keep close, isn't it? There are many
memorials and tributes being held around the world for you
today, and the fans are taking videos so they can share the
memories with me. You would be so proud of them. I love you,
son.

Loving and missing you forever, Forgetting you never Until....

Mom and Dad, and
beloved sister, Bethann, and
nephew, Christopher

December
13 2002

We
can't believe a year has passed already... it seems
like only yesterday that Jane sent us her devastating
message... Our thoughts are with those who were close
to Chuck and we wish them lots of strength to get
through this dreadful day... Today we also want to
thank everyone who supported us and encouraged us
to continue with EmptyWords, to keep Chuck's metal
spirit alive. Your messages of encouragement and support
mean a lot to us.

Before we conclude the editorial comments about the
anniversary of Chuck's passing, some good news: knowing
that Jane answers a lot of questions from fans personally,
we came up with the idea of a Q&A page as sort
of an ongoing interview for everybody to read. Jane
would love to answer questions. So send your 'ultimate'
question to Q&A@emptywords.org.
As soon as we have gathered enough Questions and Answers
we're going to publish them on the new Perennial Questions
page.

The sitekeepers

Having worked for EmptyWords for a while, I had seen
some pretty rough assignments. Most articles, when translated,
go through 2 or 3 languages before they get to my inbox.
Some of them are very difficult... But there was no
task more difficult than writing/editing Chuck's EmptyWords
"eulogy." Mentally, it was extremely taxing,
especially considering he was still with us... We were
all saving it for that inevitable day, all of us hoping
that it would collect dust long before it ever got used.

Everyone
had hope of at least a partial recovery or remission.
There were signs there to give us hope. Sadly the day
came, and on 13 December, 2001, the metal community
lost one of its most prominent and inspirational figures.
The outpouring of support from all over the world was
overwhelming. No one could deny the impact of Chuck's
work on the current state of metal. That is one of the
reasons that EmptyWords is still here. We work hard
to honor an amazing talent, who was taken from us too
soon.

I recently went to a show in New York City. One of the
openers covered "Scavenger of Human Sorrow."
Before they played it the singer dedicated it to the
memory of Chuck Schuldiner. The crowd went berserk.
Everyone in the building understood Chuck's genius and
paid their respects to a legend. For those few minutes,
Chuck once again lived on through that band, and through
all of us. We miss you Chuck.